Stadler Hungary awarded with QIB certification
Stadler’s production site in Hungary was awarded QIB approval at the last general meeting of the Quality Association for Industrial Coating (QIB), as the company has now announced.
The rail vehicle manufacturer with Swiss roots opened the plant in Szolnok in 2009 in order to expand its production capacities and serve the key market in Central and Eastern Europe. The Hungarian site manufactures and paints railway car bodies for various international new vehicle projects, such as for regional multiple units of the „Flirt“ and „KISS“ series, for metros and for so-called Taylor Made rail vehicles.
„Together with the production site in Hungary, we decided to become a member of the QIB. We were particularly impressed by the well thought-out concept of the QIB wet paint guideline. The intensive audits in the area of painting and quality assurance, the independent corrosion protection tests at the IFO and the rules on the independent testing concept in the painting process are particularly noteworthy,“ says Kevin Sloniecki, specialist engineer for surface technology cross-section engineering at Stadler. „We want to lead the way as a pioneering example and hope that our suppliers will follow our example. In the field of rail vehicle construction, there is currently a clear gap in terms of independent testing of paint shops.“
Raise of painting quality for rail vehicles
While EN 15085-2 is the established standard for welding and 6701-2 / DIN 17460 for bonding, the QIB offers a pioneering solution for painting work in rail vehicle construction by introducing a quality management system. „Our aim is not only to improve our own standards, but also to raise the industry as a whole to a higher level of quality,“ continues Kevin Sloniecki.
Stadler is one of five companies that now have QIB liquid coating approval and therefore also have access to the expertise and network of the QIB. The approval is verified by an annual, independent audit of the processes involved in the painting process, which focuses in particular on compliance with the corrosion protection requirements of the DB/QIB.
More information: www.stadlerrail.com